Storage battery plate material



Patented 'Feb 1935 I l I; r v I e STQRAQ E BATTERY BLATEMATERIAL Rufus Chamberlain, Chicago; 111 ass ignor, by mesne assignments, to 'Gou'ld Storage Battery Corporation, iDepew, N; Y; a'eorporation of Delaware 1 V, l

j neynrawing; Application Marat; 1930,

S rial N9 34 21, j e ol im b (o1, 136 -26) The invention relates tome-manufacture of In the actual carryingoutof the invention I platesior storage batteries and has for its genutilize inert pulverulent material consistingprim eral object the provision or productionot an active cipally oi metallic. lead and a. small proportion material which'will fefiect substantial saving of a lowoxide of ,leadsuch as PbzO. This lead in the cost of manufacture dust orp owdermay have a metallic lead content 5 I lieretoiore it has bee a common practice to of-approximately-65% or more, andis non-remake apaste, ior'storage battery plates by mixing active. This powdered materialmay be obtained ha e .PIQQQI' red-leadlbao or a cambina by placing pieces or balls of lead in a per forated QIl 9? bfitlhimq P 1 3 -W Phu Q" -Qiqa nd r, and. a si so t particles of lead V 1 An im ant ct of;. the invention is to pro -j will be ground offby attrition. Heat mayor may 10 da sie e batter el evmet r a con t t be PP id -.i des e sma be principally or finelydiyided or pulverulent metal-, resorted to to partly counteract the heat genera. lic lead together withan additional ingredient ated by friction. Furthermore the oxygen con-m WhiCh*Wi1lr act to). anite'themass into a self-sustent-of the atmosphere, rwithini the cylinder may;

l5 taini'ng whole of homogenous'character throughbe regulated to increase or decrease the inevitable 29 1y divided metallic lead with some low oxide Method of making lead powder, filed April 26,

out. 7 oxidation of the lead particles. An apparatus- A more specific object of my invention is to and the method for producing this lead dust with reduce the cost of production of storage battery more or less of a low oxide coating is disclosed plates by utilizing aprepondering amountof finein my co-pending application for patent for thereof, the sub-oxide PbzO, together with a suit- 1930, Serial No. 447,572 (now Patent No. 1,910,280, able proportion of highly oxidized lead, such as granted May 23, 1933). The present invention litharge PbO, and adding to this mixture a sulis not concerned specifically with the actual phuric acid solution or soluble sulphate solution making of the inert or non-reactive lead dust to form a paste material. or-powder but the method is referred to simply I am aware that attempts have been made to for the sake of clearness and by way of pointing produce a paste for storage battery plates by utiout what the material is. To this material I add lizing' lead in a pulverulent formwith an adahigh oxide of lead, preferably lithargathe prodition thereto of lead sulphate and: sulphuric acid portion of which may vary between 5 and 40% 30 solution butsuch attempts have uniformly failed though more can be utilized if desired, the gen- 30 by reason of the fact thatthe lead sulphate does eral rule being that the greater the proportion not combine with the pulverulent lead and no of lithargelthegreater will be the hardness of substantial interlocking crystalline cementation the subsequently formed plates. To this mixture is produced. Metallic or non-reactive lead is so 'I i add suificient sulphuric acid solution, fpreferchemically inert to sulphuric acid solution that ably of about 1.10 specific gravity to convert the 3 without the addition of a suitable ingredient, in mass into a paste which is kneaded and mixed suflicient amounts of lead sulphate solution are until it isof uniform character and consistency. formed to permeate the l entire mass and while The paste is then'appli'ed to storage battery grids there maybe a certain crystallization itis mereby either manual or mechanical means as may 4 ly sporadic and theresult. is-that the mass does be desired; It is advisable that the material be 40 not become a coherent unit.

, I used Within a few hours aftermixing as I have- I have discovered that by adding to the finediscovered that the sooner it is applied to the 1y divided lead, which may have with it a certain grids the better the resulting plateswill be. The

amount of low oxidesuch as the sub-oxide PbzO} sulphuric acid in the mix'converts a substan-- a comparatively small amount of high oxide tial portion of the'highly oxidized lead or lithsuch as litharge PbO that. the defects "which arge into lead sulphate and there is probably also have heretofore prevented the use of such maaslight conversion of the metallic lead and low terial, that isthe lack'of proper cementation, are oxide into a. lead sulphate. The sulphate so correctedand that upon the formation of a paste formed is in a rather fluid solution which perby the addition of a sulphuric acid solution the meates the entire mass so'that when crystalliza- V i highly oxidized lead or litharge is converted, at tion' occurs the crystals will interlock'with, one least largely, bychemical action, into lead sulanother and with the particles of the mass in a phate and thev sulphate crystals so formed act as manner analogous to the setting of hydraulic a cement or binder to unite the whole firmly into cement.

5 a coherent mass. After the plates have been pasted as above de- 5 scribed and permitted to harden they maybe air or oven dried and/or may be given a suitable acid pickle, the treatment to which they are sub- 7 jected depending upon the character of the service for which theplates are required'and also as to whether they are to be used as positives or negatives. The subsequent treatment is not an essential of this invention'and the question is manufacturer. 7 I

The paste forming compound above described readily admits of the addition thereto of special ingredients such as are now. employed by'storf age battery manufacturers to obtainthe porosity and other desirable characteristics. Such added constituents in no way affect the essential feature of my invention which resides in the addi-j" 7 tion of highly oxidized lead such as litharge to idized lead will permeate themass and effect cementation thereof in the manner set forth;

As the inert powder'can be produced at lowcost;

in fact a mere fraction of the cost of productionof either litharge or red lead; it is manifest that by the use of my invention'there will be a material saving in the cost of manufacture of storage battery plates.- r Y While I have described certain. detailed steps; ingredients and proportions thereof it should be distinctly understood that I reserve theright'to' make all such changes, variations or. modifications as will not depart from the spiritof the invention or the scope of the claims hereunto appended. V

Having thus described the invention, I claim:

1. A composition for use in the manufacture of storage batteryplates of the pasted lead-acid type, comprising between 77 and 92%iof inert 'or non-reactive lead powder containing approxone that may well be left to the judgment of the} imately 65% of powdered metallic lead and the remainder of lead sub-oxide, between 8 and 23% of litharge,and-suflicient sulphuric acid to form a paste capable of being kneaded,said proportions being by weight.

. 2. A composite material for making storage battery plates of the lead-acid type, comprising the combination of between '77 and 92% by weight of chemically inert or non-reactive lead powder containing approximately 65% by weight of metallioleadin powdered form and the remainder of a mixture of lead sub-oxide and lead monoxide, between 8 and 23%by weight of litharge,

form a mixable and-kneadable paste. 7

3. A composition for makingstorage battery "plates of the lead-acid-type, consisting of 'ap proximately" 85% of'chemically inert or'non-reand sulphuric acid in a quantity sufiicient to active lead powder containing approximately of metallic lead inpowdered form and the remainder of a mixture of lead sub-oxide, PbzO, and lead monoxide, PbO, and approximately 15%v of' llith arge, and dilute sulphuric-acid sufiicient to form a mixable and kneadable paste.

RUFUS N. C MBERLAIN, 

